The present invention relates to those apparatus commonly referred to as saddle horns that are attached to the swell, sometimes referred to as the pommel or fork, of saddles ridden for the purpose of roping an animal or object for competitive or ranching purposes. Conventionally, a saddle horn, which is a single element having a broad top, a slender neck and a broad base, is attached to the pommel of the saddle in front of the rider, thus providing a place for the roper to take a dally—or wrap a lariat rope thereabout without tying a knot—for the purpose of providing traction to the rope, thus allowing the roper to hold the dally while stopping or towing the animal or object at the opposite end of the rope with the horse, animal, or object to which the saddle is mounted.
In competitive roping events such as team roping, the time to complete a competitive run generally ranges from three to fifteen seconds. The amount of time separating the different places awarded in a roping event (first, second, third, etc.) are often separated by tenths or even hundredths of a second. It is therefore critical that the process of taking a dally to stop the animal and thus the timer be as efficient and effective as possible.
A roper attending a roping event may compete in that event as many as 20 times. The amount of time between the completion of one competitor's run and the start of the next competitor's run generally ranges from 20 to 45 seconds. Because a roper generally has multiple runs, and because those runs may be separated by 5 competitors or fewer, the roper may only have a few minutes from one run to the next. Often times this is merely enough time for the roper to ride from the back end of the arena after completing a run to the front end of the arena to commence the next run, leaving little time to make changes to his or her equipment, including adjustments to the saddle horn.
Saddle horns are primarily constructed of metal or alloy. In order to provide sufficient traction to prevent the rope from sliding, and in particular the proper traction required for competitive roping events such as team roping, the prior art involves covering the saddle horn with a material such as rubber or synthetic rubber in one of four ways, only three of which are prevalent in the market:
The most common method of the prior arts is to cover the saddle horn by applying layers of vulcanized rubber or synthetic rubber strips one to two inches wide about the horn. The application process involves placing one piece over the horn, pulling it in one direction, twisting it, pulling it in the opposite direction back over the horn, and repeating this process until the rubber is taught about the horn, and until the rubber is too short to loop over the saddle horn again. The process is repeated with additional strips of rubber tubing until the desired girth about the horn is obtained. This method has the following shortcomings, which are solved with the present invention:                a. To properly cover a bare saddle horn can take as many as seven strips of rubber tubing. The entire process of adequately covering the horn can take a person of normal strength up to ten minutes to complete.        b. It is desirable that the final outer surface of the rubber be as flat as possible to create a smooth consistent surface along the entire vertical plane of the saddle horn. However, the twisting of the tube inherently creates uneven bulges, making it impossible to create a smooth surface of consistent girth. A roper will often have to unwind and reapply the rubber strip in order to get as close to a proper surface as possible. As the repeated process of dallying wears down the strips of rubber and the partially worn older strips are exposed and re-covered with new strips of tubing, the outer surface becomes increasingly irregular in girth and surface texture and rubber protrusions begin to emanate. These anomalies result in less traction and hinder the roper's ability to consistently position the rope at the desired location along the vertical plane of the saddle horn. This decreases the likelihood that the dally will hold, which would result in the escape of the animal and potential disqualification from the competition, and increase the potential of injury to the roper's hand if the rope were to pop off the horn, as the force and action of the rope popping off of the saddle horn are significant and unpredictable.        c. As the wrap wears, protrusions of and grooves within the rubber are created that alter the surface, inhibit traction, and increase the hazard of getting a thumb, finger, or hand caught between the rope and the wrap, thus increasing the potential for injury.        d. As the tubing is generally less than an eighth of an inch thick, a single piece may only last about 10 to 20 dallies, and sometimes only two or three dallies depending on how hard it is to stop the animal, and how well or poorly the strip of tubing is applied. A roper may often use two to five strips of tubing during one practice session or at one roping event.        e. Because most ropers generally start their dally at the base of the saddle horn, close to or even touching the swell of the saddle, and because the majority of the friction is encountered at that spot, the wraps at the base of the horn generally wear out first. This often leaves a groove that presents a circumstance for the rope to get caught between the wraps and the swell of the saddle, thus preventing the roper from releasing the rope immediately upon completion of the run, which is dangerous to the roper, the animal he or she is riding, and the animal that is captured with the rope.        f. It is difficult if not impossible for young or weaker ropers to properly apply a wrap because it takes ample strength to substantially stretch the wrap to obtain several revolutions around the horn for the necessary tautness and desired traction.        
A second and less common method of the prior art involves wrapping the horn with a singular strip of rubber, such as the Dally Horn Wrap described by McCarthy in patent application Ser. No. 12/288,985. A solid strip of rubber or similar synthetic material and the method of application about a saddle horn thereof have the following shortcomings, which are solved with the present invention:                a. The solid rubber piece takes approximately five minutes to install and often requires wrapping and re-wrapping to obtain the appropriate fit.        b. Proper application requires the strength of an adult to keep the various layers taught as subsequent layers are wrapped, and to fit the tail piece in place.        c. The device will wear first on the side on which the roper initiates the dally, generally the left side for right handed ropers. Once this side wears out, the entire device is spent, as you cannot unwrap and re-stretch the worn strip without the potential for the strip to break.        
A third and even less common method of covering a saddle horn involves forcing a preformed rubber cylinder, such as the Saddle Horn Friction Fitting disclosed by Jones in U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,006, over the saddle horn cap, which has the following shortcomings that are solved by the current invention:                a. The design of the device relies on friction alone to keep the device in place on the horn and not rotate or slip off. Because the internal diameter of the device is smaller than the neck, and thus much smaller than the top of the saddle horn, it is extremely difficult to stretch over the top and position properly on the saddle horn. Forcing the device onto the saddle horn generally requires the strength of two men, even with lubrication. It is not possible for a young roper or a female of average strength to install the device.        c. Once installed, the device wears primarily in the area where the dally is initiated, typically the lower left side. Once this portion of the device is worn beyond use, the device has reached its design life, as it cannot be rotated, removed or inverted without substantial effort, and is typically just cut off. If the device is left on the horn once this section wears, there is the potential for the rope to get caught between the device and the swell of the saddle.        d. Once this device wears out, it must be cut off of the saddle horn with a knife or other device, which is hazardous.        
A possible fourth means, that is absent from the market, is the method disclosed by Eugene Parker, Roping Saddle Horn Assembly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,530, patented on Jun. 18, 1968, which has the following shortcomings that are solved by the current invention:                a. Parkers embodiment requires at least 6 separate elements: a core, a metallic sleeve, a rubber sleeve, a head, a bolt, and a wrench to remove and/or tighten the bolt.        b. Handling a head, metallic sleeve, rubber sleeve, bolt, and wrench while mounted horseback, especially while riding between runs during a roping competition, is not practical.        c. Accurately positioning the keys of the metallic sleeve into the keyholes of the rubber sleeve, especially while riding horseback, would be cumbersome.        d. The employment of a threaded bolt to secure the head to the core is time consuming, requires a wrench, and would be particularly cumbersome while horseback, and could work loose while riding.        e. Because the friction generating sleeve must be soft enough to impart traction to a rope, the hexagonal cross-section of Parker's inner core requires the addition of the outer sleeve with keys to act as a locking mechanism to prevent the friction generating sleeve from rotating. Such outer sleeve with keys would be costly to manufacture, cumbersome to handle while riding, and would require substantial effort to force the friction sleeve there onto.        
Thus, there is a need in the market for a apparatus that can be easily manipulated by a roper of any age and strength while mounted horseback, and while moving, without the necessity of a tool, that remains tight while riding, that offers quick and simple rotation and/or inversion to distribute the wear to increase the effectiveness and longevity of the rubber device, and to allow for easy replacement of the rubber device, said rubber device being properly configured and of the appropriate hardness to not rotate about the horn during use without the necessity of a sleeve is shaped to create a tendency for the rope to be shifted away from the bottom and the top of the device to improve the effectiveness and decrease the hazard of dallying.